Invercargill City Council’s new mayor, Nobby Clark, wants his first official act to be one of thanks.

The polls for the local government election 2022 closed on Saturday and preliminary results showed Clark was the clear winner of the mayoralty with 7260 votes, almost 3000 ahead of the next candidate.

Clark will take over the mayoralty from long-serving Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt.

“It would be impossible for me to say anything other than thank you to Sir Tim Shadbolt,” Clark said.

Sir Tim Shadbolt is New Zealand’s longest-serving Mayor. His mayoralty spanned over 24 years and helmed a council that brought forth such projects as the City Streets upgrade, the Splash Palace Aquatic Centre and the upgrade of the Civic Theatre.

His tenure saw Stadium Southland and the SIT Velodrome built, and he ardently campaigned for the Zero Fees scheme at the Southern Institute of Technology.

“The mutual affection between Sir Tim and Invercargill not only meant that the city had a famous champion but also provided the community with a Mayor who was just as happy coming along to a local playgroup as to a civic reception,” Clark said.

“Sir Tim has also been here for me when I have had personal family issues and I have appreciated his support.”

Clark said he was looking forward to getting into the role, working with his new Council and alongside staff to push ahead on key issues that the community was passionate about.

“I also want to thank the community and the people of Invercargill who have put their faith in me. I pledge to keep that faith and do our city proud as Mayor.”

The new Council will commence their induction into their new roles from Tuesday 11 October and will be sworn in to their positions on Thursday 20 October.

The inaugural Council meeting for the term would be held on 1 November.

Clark said he would be discussing plans with his colleagues for an appropriate farewell to Sir Tim and would make an announcement in due course.